San Jose police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run from over the weekend that they now say is being investigating as the city’s seventh homicide of the year.
Police received a 911 call around 3:07 p.m. reporting that a driver had struck a pedestrian at the intersection of The Woods Drive and Snell Avenue and then fled the scene.
When police arrived, they say they found Eric Vallejo run over after a fight at nearby Capitol Flea Market off Capitol Expressway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators say they are still looking for the driver of the car who ran Vallejo over.
Crews were cleaning up the Capitol Flea Market on Sunday when police say two large groups were kicked out for fighting. That fight spread to the streets, and that’s when police believe Vallejo was intentionally run over during a fist fight.
“The scene was very chaotic, a lot of moving parts,” San Jose Police Officer Albert Morales said.
Police say up to 12 people may have been involved. Two men drove themselves to the hospital 10 minutes after the homicide, one with a stab wound, another who appeared to also have been hit by a car.
“Those individuals were uncooperative,” Morales said.
Morales said seven homicides in the City of San Jose just a month a half into 2014 is unacceptable.
“We’ve discussed this with our command staff. There doesn’t appear to be any type of pattern,” Morales said. “These homicides are happening all over the board, all over the city.”
The San Jose Police Department is continuing to investigate the fatal collision and anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact police at (408) 277-8900.
